#EA #Battlefield #World-War1 #Battle-of-Cambrai

Through Mud and Blood
Set in Autumn of 1918 during the Battle of Cambrai in the Hundred Days Offensive, players assume the role of Daniel Edwards, a former chauffeur who enlists in the war as a British tank driver. Edwards is assigned to a Mark V tank dubbed "Black Bess," and meets the rest of his crew: Townsend, the tank crew's commander; McManus, a cynical gunner who doubts Edwards' abilities and the likelihood of the crew's success; Pritchard, another gunner; and Finch, the friendly mechanic.

The crew must penetrate German lines to reach the French town of Cambrai, and helps capture strategic positions and destroy artillery batteries. Finch is killed by machine-gun fire early on while trying to repair the tank, and later on, the tank becomes trapped in mud and surrounded by German infantry. Townsend decides to summon an artillery strike on their own position with the tank's messenger pigeon to save the tank, which McManus objects to vehemently. Pritchard is shot and killed trying to release the pigeon, forcing Edwards to do so, which enables British artillery to save the tank. Encountering thick fog in the nearby Bourlon Wood, Edwards acts as a forward scout to guide the tank. Clearing the forest, the tank becomes beset with mechanical problems, and Townsend sends Edwards and McManus to salvage spark plugs from British tanks captured by the Germans. McManus expresses his disdain for their orders and abandons the mission, deserting. However, McManus has a change of heart later on and returns just in time to save Edwards from a German soldier.

With the tank repaired, the crew proceeds to a railway station defended by German forces. Although Bess is the only British tank in the area, the crew attacks the railway station to deceive the Germans into thinking that a large British offensive is underway. Eliminating the German forces at the railway station, the tank proceeds to Cambrai but is immobilized by artillery and attacked by German soldiers. Edwards and McManus are wounded defending the tank, and an injured Townsend sacrifices himself by igniting a gas leak inside the tank, killing himself and the Germans. With Bess destroyed and Edwards and McManus the only survivors, the two proceed alone on foot to Cambrai. Closing subtitles indicate that with the participation of more than 300 tanks at the Battle of Cambrai, the war ended a month later.

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